77% of flights leaving Albany (ALB) arrived on time over the past 12 months, right at the national average of 76%. About 46 flights leave ALB on a typical day; 2.2% were cancelled. 78% pushed back from the gate on time, so most of the lateness is already there when the flight leaves the gate.
At a glance
- Best hour to fly: 6 a.m. (87% on time). Worst: 4 p.m. (65%).
- Best month: October (86%). Worst: July (70%).
- Most reliable airline here: Delta Air Lines (81%), vs United Airlines at 74%.
- Biggest delay cause: late-arriving aircraft (36% of delay minutes).
- Year on year: about the same (77% → 77%).
How late?
The on-time rate treats a flight 20 minutes late the same as one 5 hours late. Here's the split for flights leaving ALB: when a flight was late, it was under 45 minutes late 51% of the time. About 1 in 13 flights landed an hour or more late, and 1 in 43 three hours or more; 2.2% were cancelled outright.
- On time or early77%
- 15–30 min late7.3%
- 30–60 min late5.6%
- 1–2 hours late3.9%
- 2–3 hours late1.6%
- 3+ hours late2.3%
- Diverted0.3%
- Cancelled2.2%
Share of all 16,794 scheduled flights, past 12 months, by arrival time against schedule.
Best time of day to fly out of ALB
Time of day matters more at ALB than almost anything else you control. Flights scheduled to leave at 6 a.m. arrived on time 87% of the time; at 4 p.m. it was 65%, a 22-point gap. Taken together, early departures (5–9 a.m.) ran 86% on time against 66% for the evening bank (5–10 p.m.). Early planes usually start the day at the airport, so they haven't had a chance to pick up delays elsewhere. By evening a late inbound aircraft, a crew running out of duty hours or an afternoon thunderstorm can push one late flight into the next. Cancellations cluster too: 5 a.m. departures were cancelled 3.5% of the time, against 2.2% overall.
Hour × month
Combine the two and the spread is wider still. The most reliable combination at ALB was a 5 a.m. departure in May (93% on time); the least, 6 p.m. in July (47%). If you can only move one thing, move the hour. Departure hour usually shifts the odds more than the month does.
Each cell: on-time rate for that departure hour in that calendar month, 2023–2026. Find your travel month, then look along the row for the greenest hour.
Best and worst months
July is the hardest month at ALB, with 70% of flights on time across 2023–2026; October is the best at 86%. Summer (June–August) runs 12 points worse than autumn: heavy schedules, peak loads and afternoon thunderstorms. Winter costs 11 points against autumn. Cancellations peak in January (3.8% of flights).
Airlines at ALB
American Airlines runs 31% of departures from ALB. Among airlines with at least 1,000 departures here, Delta Air Lines was the most reliable (81% on time) and United Airlines the least (74%), a 8-point difference. On a route where both fly, that difference is worth more than a small fare gap.
| Airline | Departures | On time | Left on time | Cancelled | Typical arrival |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Airlines | 5,196 | 75% | 77% | 3.0% | −11 min |
| Southwest Airlines | 4,127 | 81% | 78% | 1.3% | −7 min |
| Delta Air Lines | 2,986 | 81% | 81% | 2.7% | −12 min |
| United Airlines | 2,813 | 74% | 80% | 1.8% | −5 min |
| JetBlue | 908 | 75% | 81% | 2.1% | −6 min |
| Allegiant Air | 764 | 66% | 69% | 0.9% | +1 min |
Why flights are late at ALB
Airlines report a cause for every flight that arrives 15 or more minutes late. At ALB, 36% of delay minutes came from late-arriving aircraft: the plane showed up late from its previous flight, so the delay started somewhere else. Next is the airlines themselves at 34%. That's why the first flight of the morning is the safest bet: it has no earlier flight to inherit a delay from. Of the 366 cancellations, 69% were blamed on weather.
The average taxi from gate to takeoff is 17 minutes, about typical for a large U.S. airport.
Month by month
Over the latest 12 months 77% of ALB departures were on time, against 77% in the 12 months before: essentially unchanged. The best recent month was May 2026 (85%); the worst, December 2025 (66%).
Worst cancellation days
The worst single day in the past year was Sunday, Jan 25, 2026, when 74% of 43 scheduled departures were cancelled. Days like that are usually a major storm, a system outage or a holiday peak hitting bad weather. No average predicts them, so on a stormy forecast, check your airline's travel waivers.
| Date | Departures | Cancelled | On time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 25, 2026 | 43 | 74% | 19% |
| Jan 26, 2026 | 41 | 49% | 7% |
| Feb 23, 2026 | 48 | 29% | 58% |
| Jul 21, 2026 | 46 | 26% | 37% |
| Dec 2, 2025 | 44 | 18% | 20% |
| Jul 18, 2026 | 46 | 15% | 41% |
| Mar 17, 2026 | 42 | 14% | 24% |
| Dec 29, 2025 | 49 | 14% | 31% |
| Feb 22, 2026 | 50 | 14% | 38% |
| Nov 29, 2025 | 51 | 14% | 53% |
Last flights of the day
The last flight of the day is a different bet. Across routes from ALB, each airline's final departure was cancelled 3.4% of the time, against 1.9% for its earlier flights (1.8× as often). Late in the day crews run short on duty hours, aircraft arrive late from elsewhere, and with no later flight to fold passengers into, cancelling is easier for the airline. 3.2% of last flights landed 3+ hours late. The riskiest last flight out was American Airlines to Washington (7.7% cancelled).
| Last flight to | Airline | Leaves | Cancelled | 3h+ late | On time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DCA Washington | American Airlines | 5:34 p.m. | 7.7% | 6.3% | 55% |
| ORD Chicago | American Airlines | 8:00 p.m. | 7.0% | 2.0% | 63% |
| PHL Philadelphia | American Airlines | 6:31 p.m. | 3.6% | 5.0% | 72% |
| LGA New York | Delta Air Lines | 12:25 p.m. | 6.0% | 2.3% | 70% |
| ORD Chicago | United Airlines | 4:23 p.m. | 2.8% | 4.1% | 60% |
| DTW Detroit | Delta Air Lines | 5:05 p.m. | 1.9% | 3.8% | 75% |
| MDW Chicago | Southwest Airlines | 6:55 p.m. | 2.1% | 3.5% | 63% |
| IAD Washington | United Airlines | 7:30 p.m. | 3.0% | 2.5% | 71% |
| FLL Fort Lauderdale | JetBlue | 10:58 a.m. | 2.7% | 2.7% | 54% |
| ATL Atlanta | Delta Air Lines | 6:54 p.m. | 2.7% | 2.2% | 79% |
| BWI Baltimore | Southwest Airlines | 4:78 p.m. | 2.5% | 1.9% | 73% |
| MCO Orlando | Southwest Airlines | 9:55 a.m. | 1.8% | 1.8% | 62% |
Each airline's last scheduled departure of the day on a route, on days it flies the route at least twice; past 12 months. Riskiest first.
Tips for flying out of ALB
- Book the earliest departure you can live with. At ALB the 6 a.m. flights do best.
- Traveling in July? Leave extra slack for anything that can't move: cruises, weddings, the last connection of the day.
- Choosing between airlines? Delta Air Lines has the better record here.
- Need to arrive tonight? Don't book the last flight out of ALB; the one before it leaves you a backup.
- Delayed already? Most delays at ALB come from late-arriving aircraft. If your inbound plane is late, your flight will be too, whatever the board says.
Routes from ALB
Where you're going matters too. From ALB, the most reliable busy route was to Baltimore (BWI, 87% on time) and the least reliable to Washington (DCA, 63%). Flights into congested airports inherit their delays: an air traffic program at the destination holds planes on the ground here.
Least reliable first. Routes with at least 365 flights a year.
| To | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Typical arrival |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DCA Washington | 1,188 | 63% | 5.5% | −3 min |
| FLL Fort Lauderdale | 594 | 67% | 2.0% | −1 min |
| IAD Washington | 1,434 | 71% | 1.9% | −5 min |
| ORD Chicago | 2,373 | 75% | 2.6% | −8 min |
| MDW Chicago | 737 | 77% | 1.4% | −5 min |
| BNA Nashville | 436 | 78% | 0.9% | −6 min |
| PHL Philadelphia | 1,570 | 78% | 1.8% | −14 min |
| MCO Orlando | 1,021 | 79% | 1.2% | −5 min |
| LGA New York | 658 | 79% | 5.8% | −12 min |
| CLT Charlotte | 1,102 | 80% | 1.4% | −12 min |
| ATL Atlanta | 1,042 | 82% | 2.3% | −11 min |
| DTW Detroit | 1,286 | 82% | 1.4% | −14 min |
| BWI Baltimore | 1,743 | 87% | 1.4% | −10 min |
Flights into ALB
Arriving rather than leaving? These are the routes into Albany, least reliable first. The weakest is from Fort Lauderdale (60% on time).
| From | Flights | On time | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|
| FLL Fort Lauderdale | 595 | 60% | 1.8% |
| DCA Washington | 1,188 | 62% | 5.6% |
| MCO Orlando | 1,024 | 68% | 1.3% |
| LGA New York | 658 | 69% | 5.6% |
| MDW Chicago | 737 | 70% | 0.9% |
| ORD Chicago | 2,374 | 73% | 2.6% |
| IAD Washington | 1,434 | 75% | 2.2% |
| ATL Atlanta | 1,042 | 77% | 2.2% |
| DTW Detroit | 1,286 | 77% | 1.2% |
| CLT Charlotte | 1,102 | 78% | 1.4% |
| BWI Baltimore | 1,740 | 79% | 1.8% |
| PHL Philadelphia | 1,570 | 79% | 2.2% |
| BNA Nashville | 436 | 80% | 0.2% |
Questions about ALB delays
What is the best time to fly out of ALB?
Flights scheduled at 6 a.m.: over the past year 87% of ALB departures at that hour arrived on time, against 65% at 4 p.m., the worst hour.
What month has the most flight delays at ALB?
July (70% on time). October is the best month (86%).
Which airline is most on time at ALB?
Delta Air Lines: 81% of its ALB departures arrived on time over the past year. United Airlines had the weakest record at 74%.
Why are flights delayed at ALB?
The biggest cause was late-arriving aircraft (36% of delay minutes): the plane showed up late from its previous flight, so the delay started somewhere else. Then the airlines themselves (34%).
How often are flights cancelled at ALB?
2.2% of scheduled departures over the past 12 months, peaking in January at 3.8%.
Hours are scheduled local departure times. "On time" means arriving less than 15 minutes late at the destination; cancelled and diverted flights count as not on time. Method.